An Interview with an Intern.

As you may know from my social media, Connor has been interning for me this semester. I love having interns- it helps so much to have another human working with me at Downs Books Inc. He’s a dear friend and I totally love him and his family and well, he’ll explain why he interned, but it has been a total joy.

So a few weeks ago I asked y’all if anyone had any questions for Connor when it came to his internship. So he finally answered them. It’s my fault, I have just been working him to death, so this has been the first chance that he’s had to actually sit down and blog for ya. Hand in the air, I promise I did not alter his answers at all. He is legitimately this awesome and hilarious. Would I have any other type of intern? Absolutely not. I did make a few comments during the interview [you’ll know it’s me], but his words are all his words.

So without further ado….

Connor, introduce yourself.

Hello AnnieBloggers! I’m Connor, I’m 22, and I’m finishing my last semester as a senior at Vanderbilt. I play baseball sometimes, eat a lot, and have a Jack Russell Terrier named Jack. I also intern for THE @AnnieDowns, she’s awesome.

. . . . .

Stephanie asks…. Why would a boy want to intern for an author for teen girls?

Well before I was Annie’s intern, I was Annie’s friend. My friend Keenan and I got to know AnnieBlogs at CrossPoint in Nashville in January of 2012, and she’s been like a sister to us ever since. I’m graduating in May, and required only 5 hours of coursework this semester to satisfy all of my requirements, cool right? So Annie and I had this crazy idea that she would let me come pack her car full of books and make sure she doesn’t forget anything before she talks to all of her fans every weekend, and do it all for free! Gah I’m lucky. No but seriously, interning for Downs Books has been awesome. My goal was to get a better feel for how a small business is managed day to day, and Annie has really helped guide my understanding of how her biz works. I’m really lucky, it’s been a blast.

. . . . .

Adam asks…. If Annie could buy you one car, which car should she buy you to honor your internship?

Hello Adam! Have we met? Good question, maybe the three of us could sit down and convince her to do so? Have your people call my people (my cell) and we’ll talk. Instead of a car, I was thinking that maybe she could buy me a tandem bicycle that I could cruise around town with all of my buddies on. Talk about a ladykiller, right? I don’t know why anyone hasn’t thought of that before.

[This? I’m laughing. And researching where to buy a tandem bike because BE CAREFUL WHAT YOU ASK FOR, KID.]

. . . . .

Tonya asks… What does an intern do?

I do inventory before and after events, make sure she doesn’t forget anything, pick up her mail from the PO Box, eat oatmeal and drink lots of coffee. When I get really lucky, I count all of her flower pins and organize them by color. It’s awesome.

[He also forgot to tell you that he was the driving force behind the Perfectly Unique notecards and helps keep merch in stock and organized, emails companies about sponsorship opportunities, makes the ladies at the bank all giggly and weird, fully handles the company when I am out of town, reminds me not to give books away all the time, and pretty much just makes sure we don’t run out of money. So. He’s an important dude in this company. Also, I make him scoop glitter into envelopes before we mail them. Because I think it is funny.]

. . . .

What’s the best part about interning?

Learning about how the business works has probably been the most interesting part. Have any of you ever watched someone write a book? It’s pretty cool. Become friends with an author and try it sometime.

[What Connor is failing to mention is that there were days during the writing of Speak Love when he would have to sit across the dining room table from me while I cried from stress or concern or any other plethora of emotions related to pouring your heart out into a word document. So, lucky him for realz.]

. . . . .

What’s the worst part?

Counting flower pins.

[This? I did not know.]

. . . . .

What’s your intern schedule?

Mondays and Thursday from 9-12. We usually spend about an hour each day talking about how we can change the world so more like 10-12. Rough life, huh?

[My friend Nichole accuses us of talking more than working BUT HOW COULD THAT BE TRUE OF ME? Fine, we do like to solve the world’s problems a lot in the form of verbal communication. It happens. But so does lots and lots of work. Lots.]

. . . . .

So that’s Connor! I’m not not NOT going to get mushy and emotional in this post about how great he is- at this internship and at life- but trust me. I could.

If y’all have any more questions, don’t hesitate to ask! We’ve got a few weeks left of this work setup, so you may be able to squeeze another blog post outta him.

He sounds awesome Annie! Hey, I have a question, since he is a baseball guy. What is his favorite team, and his favorite baseball park he’s been to? If he doesn’t have a favorite stadium he’s visited, what’s one he’d love to go to someday?

Annieblogs! Connor seems like a great young man! I hope he continues to do well in his internship and in his life after. 🙂

Will you be looking for another intern in the future? If so, would you please post what you look for in an intern and how to apply? I would Love to have an opportunity like this. 🙂 I pray for your continued success. 🙂